>S 3545 
E828 
>6 

1922 
Sopy 1 



Society Notes 



BY 



DUFFY R. WEST 







Stewart Kidd 

MODERN PLAYS 

EDITED BY 

FRANK SHAY 



Stewart Kidd Dramatic Anthologies 

Fifty Contemporary One-Act Plays 

Edited by 
FRANK SHAY and PIERRE LOVING 

THIS volume contains FIFTY REPRESENTATIVE ONE-ACT PLAYS 
of the MODERN THEATER, chosen from the dramatic works of con- 
temporary writers all over the world and is the second volume in the 
Stewart Kidd Dramatic Anthologies, the first being European Theories of the 
Drama, by Barrett H. Clark, which has been so enthusiastically received. 

The editors have scrupulously sifted countless plays and have selected the 
best available in English. One-half the plays have never before been pub- 
lished in book form; thirty-one are no longer available in any other edition. 
The work satisfies a long-felt want for a handy collection of the choicest 
plays produced by the art theaters all over the world. It is a complete reper- 
tory for a little theater, a volume for the study of the modern drama, a rep- 
resentative collection of the world's best short plays. 

CONTENTS 



AUSTRIA 

Schnitzler (Arthur) — Literature 
BELGIUM 

Maeterlinck (Maurice) — The Intruder 
BOLIVIA 

More (Federico) — Interlude 
DENMARK 

Wied (Gustave) — Autumn Fires 
FRANCE 

Ancey (George) — M. Lamblin 

Porto- Riche (Georges) — Francoise's Luck 
GERMANY 

Ettinger (Karl) — Altruism 

von Hofmannsthal (Hugo) — Madonna Dia- 
nora 

Wedekind (Frank) — The Tenor 
GREAT BRITAIN 

Bennett (Arnold) — A Good Woman 

Calderon George) — The Little Stone House 

Cannan (Gilbert) — Mary's Wedding 

Dowson (Ernest) — The Pierrot of the Min- 
ute. 

Ellis (Mrs. Havelock) — The Subjection 
of Kezia 

Hankin (St. John) — The Constant Lover 
INDIA 

Mukerji (Dhan Gopal) — The Judgment of 
Indra 
IRELAND 

Gregory (Lady) — The Workhouse Ward 
HOLLAND 

Speenhoff (J. H.) — Louise 
HUNGARY 

Biro (Lajos) — The Grandmother 
ITALY 

Giocosa (Giuseppe) — The Rights of the Soul 
RUSSIA 

Andreyev (Leonid) — Love of One's Neigh- 
bor 

Tchekoff (Anton) — The Boor 



SPAIN 

Benevente (Jacinto) — His Widow's Hus- 
band 
Quinteros (Serafina and Joaquin Alverez) 

— A Sunny Morning 
SWEDEN 

Strindberg (August)— The Creditor 
UNITED STATES 

Beach (Lewis) — Brothers 
Cowan (Sada) — In the Morgue 
Crocker (Bosworth) — The Baby Carriage 
Cronyn (George W.) — A Death in Fever 

Flat 
Davies (Mary Carolyn) — The Slave with 

Two Faces 
Day (Frederick L.)— The Slump 
Flanner (Hildegard) — Mansions 
Glaspell (Susan)— Trifles 
Gerstenberg (Alice) — The Pot Boiler 
Helbum (Theresa)— Enter the Hero 
Hudson (Holland)— The Shepherd in the 

Distance 
Kemp (Harry) — Boccaccio's Untold Tale 
Langner (Lawrence) — Another Way Out 
MacMillan (Mary) — The Shadowed Star 
Millay (Edna St. Vincent) — Aria da Capo 
Moeller (Philip) — Helena's Husband 
O'Neill (Eugene) — He 
Stevens (Thomas Wood) — The Nursery 

Maid of Heaven 
Stevens (Wallace) — Three Travelers Watch 

a Sunrise 
Tompkins (Frank G.) — Sham 
Walker (Stuart) — The Medicine Show 
Wellman (Rita)— For All Time 
Wilde (Percival)— The Finger of God 
YIDDISH 

Ash (Sholom)— Night 

Pinski (David) — Forgotten Souls 



Large 8vo, 585 pages. Net, $5.00 



Send for Complete Dramatic Catalogue 

STEWART KIDD COMPANY 

PUBLISHERS, - - CINCINNATI, U. S. A. 



STEWART KIDD MODERN PLAYS 

Edited by Frank Shay 



SOCIETY NOTES 



COPYRIGHT, 1922 

STEWART KIDD COMPANY 






i« 



All rights reserved 



Application for permission to produce Society Notes must be 
made to the author, who may be addressed in care of the pub- 
lishers, Stewart Kidd Company, Cincinnati, Ohio. 



©CI.AG77779 



Printed in the United States of America 
The Caxton Press 



AUG -5 1922 



bri 



CHARACTERS 

Mary Sedgewick 
Reginald Staunton 
Mrs. Sedgewick 
Miss Florae Fountain 
Mr. Sedgewick 
Dr. Glen Corre 



SOCIETY NOTES 



of gold and her hair is carefully dressed. Staunton 
is in conventional evening clothes. He is an ex- 
ceedingly well-groomed, heavy-set man in his 
late thirties. His manner is self-confident and 
tremendously conceited. 

MARY 

You may as well run along and amuse yourself 
in the billiard room until the ball begins. I 
must go and slip on my dress, and we're not 
getting any further in this argument. 

STAUNTON 

Let's keep it up a bit longer. I haven't begun 
to show my strength. 

MARY 

I appreciate your coming early to add the last 
touch to the success of the evening. But I 
tell you once and forever Mr. Reginald 
Staunton, I will never marry you, never, never, 
never. 

STAUNTON 

And I tell you, you will marry me, Miss Mary 
Sedgewick. Your mother wants you to. 

MARY 

My mother wouldn't have to live with you. 
I would. My mother and I don't agree on most 
subjects anyway. 

STAUNTON 

You're the first woman I've pleaded with in 
all these years. 

MARY 

That's the chief reason I won't listen to you. 
Those other women have spoiled you and petted 
8 



SOCIETY NOTES 



you and given in to you until you haven't 
a shred of respect left for any of them. 

STAUNTON 

I have for you. 

MARY 

You wouldn't, if I yielded. 
staunton {advancing toward her) 

Try me. 
mary {retreating) 

And be victim two hundred and twenty-seven? 

You underestimate my powers of resistance, 

Mr. Staunton. 

STAUNTON 

No, I don't think I do. That's what attracts 
me so tremendously, I believe. 

MARY 

Of course it attracts you. You like my line. 
It's something new. But I'm looking ahead to 
the long, long evenings when I'd be something 
old, and you and your gray roadster would seek 
refuge from boredom at any other doorway 
but your own. I'd be reduced to being a mar- 
ried vamp. Hateful creatures! 

STAUNTON 

Why should there be those evenings of boredom 
for people like you and me? We can take our 
pick of the amusements of the world, cruise, 
travel, when we tire of things around here and 
— of each other. {He sits on the sofa and pulls 
her down beside him.) Come, what do you say? 
Let's announce it tonight at your ball. Think 
how your mother would love it. 

MARY 

Isn't it a pity she can't have you for herself? 
9 



SOCIETY NOTES 



No, I won't take you until I've gone on a bit 
of a search. {Cynical but wistful.) I've 
heard there are married couples who like 
to spend those long, long evenings alone, at 
home — together. Incredible, isn't it? 

STAUNTON 

Tommy-rot! What's life for, if not to pack in 
as many good times as a man has the money 
to pay for? What can have started your 
mother's daughter off on such a tangent? 
Are you in love with another man, some queer 
duck we none of us know? {He looks at her 
shrewdly.) By Jove, I believe that's it. Who 
is he? {Grimly taking her hands and turning 
her towards him.) No matter! He won't get 
you. I never wanted anything yet that I 
couldn't get, and I want you. 
mary {shakes of his hands and rises) 

Wrong again. He's not a man, he's an ideal, 
and I shan't marry until I find him. 

{The voices of Mrs. Sedgewick and Miss Foun- 
tain are heard of stage.) 

MISS FOUNTAIN 

Really astonishing. Quite, quite ravishing. 

MRS. SEDGEWICK 

Yes, it all takes ability, real executive ability, 
but I— 
mary {runs to door, left) 

Oh, glory, there comes Mother and her beloved 
Society Notes. I can't stand any more of that 
twaddle. {She points to the door, right.) If you 
go through that door, the butler will give you 
10 



SOCIETY NOTES 



an appetizer for the evening's bliss. {Pretends 
to raise a glass to her lips?) See you later. 

{Mary goes off, left, and Staunton, right?) 

{Mrs. Sedgewick and Miss Fountain enter from 
the sun room. Mrs. Sedgewick is a portly, com- 
manding person, still conscious of her corsets, 
and gowned in full evening regalia, with magnifi- 
cent jewels. She uses her lorgnettes as a weapon 
of offense. Miss Fountain is a large, thin, 
voluble woman, past her first youth, sprightly, 
fervent, almost kittenish when she is with the 
right set. Her face in repose shows the strain of 
constant enthusiasm over other people's good 
times. She is dressed in a very fussy evening 
dress, feathers, fringe, beads dangling indis- 
criminately. The fact of her having been well- 
born gives her a certain ease of manner with the 
clients whose careers she helps mould. She is the 
Society Editress for the Morning Star.) 

MISS FOUNTAIN 

Charming, exquisite, ravishing. Marvelous 
to me how you accomplish these results. C'est 
epouvante! Such atmosphere, such unique 
atmosphere. I feel this will be the Ball of the 
season. 

MRS. SEDGEWICK 

Yes, I am sure dear Mary's debut ball is going 
to be a great success. 

{Mrs. Sedgewick moves about the room, compla- 
cently touching things into place, glancing with 
satisfaction over the cards that came with the 
flowers?) 

II 



SOCIETY NOTES 



MRS. SEDGEWICK 

Xo expense has been spared. All the right 
people are coming and none of the wrong ones 
have been asked. 

MISS FOUNTAIN" 

So wise of you, dear Mrs. Sedgewick. In these 
Bolshevistic times you stand for Society's 
Rock of Ages. 

MRS. SEDGEWICK 

Yes, I must admit I am very strict on the sub- 
ject of exclusiveness, very strict indeed. I 
cannot understand some of our acquaintances 
who open their doors to anyone. I tell Mary 
every day it is not necessary for her to know 
everyone who wants to know her. 

MISS FOUNTAIN 

Certainly not. The dear child has been so 
carefully reared. She is even a bit aloof with 
me at times. 

MRS. SEDGEWICK 

For instance, this Dr. Corre, a young doctor 
who attends Mr. Sedgewick. A very estimable 
young man in his way, no doubt, but not our 
kind at all; Mary had to have him invited. 
To my surprise he sent his regrets. 

MISS FOUNTAIN 

You'll occasionally find that some of these 
people have the good sense not to come where 
they know they'll feel out of place. 

MRS. SEDGEWICK 

Exactly. But Mary is a bit — er — what shall 
I say — difficile. She refuses to understand why 
some people belong and others do not. You 
simply cannot imagine the people she wanted to 
12 



: : ; I 7 7 I ; 






t:.: : 7- f 



SOCIETY NOTES 



MISS FOUNTAIN 

Dear lady, how grateful Society should be that 
it has such stalwart bulwarks as you to ward 
off the vulgar invasion of the masses. {Mrs. 
Sedgewick smoothes down her portly hips doubt- 
fully. Miss Fountain hurriedly covers her slip.) 
Figuratively, I mean. Metaphorically speaking 
of course. As I composed myself to write the 
account of your ball for the Sunday papers, for 
once duty and pleasure went hand in hand. 
It was a joy to write about the affair, the house, 
the sumptousness — and dear Mr. Sedgewick. 
{At the mention of Mr. Sedgewick 's name, his 
wife shows distinct uneasiness.) He is always 
such a charming host in spite of his delicate 
health. Rheumatism, is it not? 

MRS. SEDGEWICK 

Yes — er rheumatism. A very unusual kind. 

MISS FOUNTAIN 

Inflammatory? 

MRS. SEDGEWICK 

Yes, very! He will strain every effort to be 
present; he is looking forward to the ball with 
such pleasure. He dotes on Mary. We could 
not make the list exclusive enough to suit him. 

MISS FOUNTAIN 

So thoughtful, so aloof, so untiring in his efforts 
for others. He really should be careful of him- 
self for the good of the community. The true 
aristocrat. 
mrs. sedgewick {suddenly businesslike) 

Miss Fountain, you brought the account of the 
ball with you? That is as much as you could 
write before it takes place? 



SOCIETY NOTES 



miss fountain {produces a sheaf of typewritten 
pages out of a satin bag) 

Here it is almost as you dictated it to me. All 
I have to do is to fill in a list of the guests and 
their gowns. 
mrs. sedgewick {goes to the table and takes a 
piece of notepaper out of the drawer) 
Here is the list of guests whose names I want 
published. The names underlined are the people 
whose costumes and appearance I want specially 
emphasized. You understand, I know. 
miss fountain {takes the page and glances over it 
rapidly) 

Surely, dear lady. 
mrs. sedgewick {looks over Miss Fountains 
shoulder) 

For example, people like the Browns or the 
Jenkses or the Pickleheimers. One must ask 
them, you know, but you needn't put them in 
the notes, no matter how often they say good 
evening to you. 
miss fountain 

I understand perfectly. The effect of an affair 
on the public mind is so enhanced by the proper 
treatment of these details. {She finishes look- 
ing over the list hurriedly , nodding her head with 
satisfaction, before she stuffs it into her bag.) 
Such a satisfactory list. You have a flair, a 
real genius, for social subtleties. 
mrs. sedgewick {squeezes Miss Fountain's hand) 
Dear child, I do appreciate your interest. 

MISS FOUNTAIN 

And I yours. Now I'm off through the rooms 
15 



SOCIETY NOTES 



for a last loving survey, before the guests ar- 
rive. Au revoir. 

(Miss Fountain goes into the sun room, leaving 
Mrs. Sedgewick alone on the stage reading the 
typewritten pages with an air of great complacency. 
Mary enters, door, left. Her manner is listless, 
almost unhappy. Her attitude toward her mother 
is careless to the point of indifference. The 
mother s manner is that of a general who expects 
his troops to rebel on the eve of battle. During the 
following scene Mrs. Sedgewick is glancing over 
the typed papers when she is not looking at Mary.) 

mrs. sedgewick (looking at her daughter in dis- 
may) 
Why aren't you dressed? 

MARY 

Plenty of time. All I have to do is to slip into 
my gown. 
mrs. sedgewick (nervously) 

Do you know if your father is ready ? 

MARY 

I just left him. Dr. Corre is giving him a last 
shot so that he can do the family proud. 

MRS. SEDGEWICK 

Mary! No well-bred girl talks that way about 
her father. 

MARY 

Who said I was well-bred? I wouldn't be ac- 
cepted in any exclusively pedigreed animal show 
— after the judges had seen Father. 

MRS. SEDGEWICK 

Mary!! 

16 



SOCIETY NOTES 



mary {carelessly) 

Sorry. Won't do it again. Dr. Corre assures 
me that Father will hold up for at least five 
hours. Quite a record for him, isn't it ? {Pause.) 
I asked Dr. Corre to try to come tonight. 

MRS. SEDGEWICK 

He probably regretted in the first place be- 
cause he knew he would not fit in. I only 
consented to ask him because he is around your 
father so much. 

MARY 

You were smarter than I was. He refused again. 
Said he wasn't interested. {Wearily.) I don't 
suppose I interest him either for that matter. 

MRS. SEDGEWICK {scornfully) 

You interest him? The very idea! Really, 
Mary, considering your rearing, you are very 
hard to understand at times. 

MARY 

Yes, all things considered, I am a misfit. I 
never felt it, so acutely as I do tonight. All 
this fussing and fuming and wasted energy and 
not one bit of pure happiness or real kind- 
liness in the lot. I'm bored to extinction before 
I begin. I'm not Glen Corre's type. I've never 
been taught to think. Something like Reg 
Staunton will be my fate, I suppose. 

mrs. sedgewick {happy, eager, excited) 
Has he said anything? 

mary {scornfully) 

Several times. Any time I give him the chance. 

mrs. sedgewick {bitter and frustrated) 

Most of the girls who are coming here tonight 
would give their souls for your chance. 
17 



SOCIETY NOTES 



MARY 

He'd love that. I wish the nastiest six could 
have him. That would about satisfy him — 
for a time. Selfish old beast! 

MRS. SEDGEWICK 

Love often comes after marriage. 

MARY 

I know. Love for another woman. 

MRS. SEDGEWICK 

Mary, one of the chief things you have to 
learn is not to let your interests roam too far 
outside your own circle. Go to concerts and 
lectures; be a patroness as often as you please, 
if the list is an exclusive one; have your little 
charities — 

mary (explodes) 
Oh, Lord! 

mrs. sedgewick (rises and folds the papers in- 
dignantly) 

Really I refuse to stand this insolence of yours 
another minute. 

mary (her voice suddenly softens with contrition 
and she lays her hands on her mother s shoulders) 
Mother dear, I'm sorry if I hurt you. If you 
would only try to understand me, we could be 
so happy together. 

mrs. sedgewick (blindly obdurate^ goes right on) 
After all that is being done for you, your tea, 
your clothes, your jewels, and now this ball, 
all for you — 

mary (repulsed \ gives a hard laugh) 

For me? What a joke! If you didn't have me 
to give a ball for, you'd find another debutante 
to give one for, the swellest on your list. That's 
18 



SOCIETY NOTES 



the way all the elderly society fans keep things 
going for themselves after they've outlived their 

D youth. 

5 edge v.- : : K 
I should hate to have Miss Fountain find you 
in this mood. 

MARY 

Your friend would be too tactful to notice it. 
he takes the papers from her mother and looks 
them ozer mi:: Lord! what a line to 

write. Covering people's defects with twaddle 
and exalting their commonplaceness into virtue. 
What tommy-rot! 

SEDGEWICK sarcastic) 

You seem to find them interesting, neverthe- 

I want to see how your friend Miss Fountain 
camouflaged the past records of our family this 
time. I am looking to see whether she touched 
on the career of my maternal great-uncle. 
She is such a shark for ancestry, you know. 
lots. szDGEwicK [in zexed alarm) 

Mary, how dare you recall that? Give me those 
papers this instant. 

MARY 

Oh, yes, here it is. (She pretends to read). And 
it came to pass that Ben Higgins, the great 
uncle of the debutante on the mother's side, 
ie spending an enforced rest cure at the 
State Penitentiary, became so expert in making 
shoes that on regaining his liberty, he went into 
the business. And he did teach his brother, 
Josiah Hizgins, the debutante's grandfather, 
19 



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roll up the 

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Iris. 



'Princelv 



Oh, what a naughty lie, 
dear, when yon don't even know the 

as. sedcewick {snatches the papers from M 
You really are too exasperating. Go and dress. 

Hr: : --. ■■-..: :'a:htr. ar.i I've had aiv^: 

{Carre ushers m M. fe, /^r, raz£ 

the festivities. Carre is a clean-cut, k 
attractive type of young man, dressed in welL 

-.:.:-. :: ;:r.. :'.;:'.*:. .'r,:/r:. ::- ;; .:-: i^::.:::.'^.:., 
trembling, repulsive wreck of a man in irre- 
proachable evening dress. He mozes a 
stage haltingly, with the slithering walk of a man 

tc 



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-: — _ — . 1 _ - . - . — - - - - ' J - . T o 

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SOCIETY NOTES 



left y looking at Mary. She speaks to him in a 
low voice?) 

MRS. SEDGEWICK 

How is your patient tonight, Dr. Corre? 

CORRE 

Unusually well, Mrs. Sedgewick. He will hold 
up splendidly, I think. 

MRS. SEDGEWICK 

If you could only give him something to keep 
him from being offensive to people. 

CORRE 

You are asking a great deal of science, Mrs. 
Sedgewick. 

SEDGEWICK 

Rotten lot of cards. Is that all? You never did 
know how to make the best people your friends. 
Where's your menu? (Mrs. Sedgewick hands it 
to him. He looks at it and gives a cry of rage?) 
In all these years haven't I taught you that 
it's utterly vulgar as well as suicidal to serve 
lobster mayonnaise and ice cream at the same 
time? I never read anything as absolutely com- 
mon as the selection of this menu. Your work, 
I suppose. 
corre (comes over to him and taps him on the 
shoulder) 

It isn't wise to excite yourself unnecessarily, 
Mr. Sedgewick. 

SEDGEWICK (shouts) 

Unnecessarily? My God! man, when the favors 
look like a Christmas fete for charity children, 
and the flowers look like the festooning in a 
bar-room — and — and — where is the list of 

22 



SOCIETY NOTES 



guests? (He half rises from the chair ; his feet 
slide about helplessly, and he subsides again.) 

{Mrs, Sedgewick hands him the list. He looks 
it over, snorting with scorn.) 

SEDGEWICK 

Bunch of muckers. Not many people fit to 
associate with these days. 

(Mary, who has watched the scene in ironic 
silence, suddenly chuckles out loud. Her father 
glares around at her.) 

SEDGEWICK 

I'd like to be amused. Give me something to 
laugh at. Tell me the joke. 

MARY 

It would take too long. I'd have to review the 
entire family history. I'm off now to get into 
my frock. Prepare for a vision when I return. 
(She goes out, left.) 

SEDGEWICK 

Insolent little devil. But she shows class. 
(He looks at his wife.) Takes after my people. 
(He throws out his sunken chest.) I tell you, 
breeding shows every time. (He rises with 
much difficulty but ultimate success.) Going to 
view the rest of the mismanagements of this 
party. (He totters toward the sun room.) 

CORRE 

Follow my directions as closely as you can, 
Mr. Sedgewick. And if you need me, I'll 
be at my home this evening. 

SEDGEWICK 

Stay for the ball, Corre. (Sarcastically.) 
Awfully amusing. Til give you pointers. 
23 



SOCIETY NOTES 



CORRE 

Thanks. Not this evening. Work to do at 
home. 

{As Sedgewick reaches the sun room he bumps 
into Miss Fountain, who, notebook in hand, is 
going in the opposite direction. She overflows ef- 
fusively.) 

MISS FOUNTAIN 

How lovely! Everything so chaste, so charm- 
ing, so rav — 
sedgewick {grunts) 

. cTevening. {They go of in opposite 
directions.) 

MRS. SEDGEWICK 

Dr. Corre. 

CORRE 

Yes, Mrs. Sedgewick? 

MRS SEDGEWICK 

Can't you make him a bit steadier just for this 
evening? 

CORRE 

I've stimulated him as much as I dare, Mrs. 
Sedgewick. 
mrs. sedgewick {gives a long sigh) 

How long does a man in his condition usually 
last? 

CORRE 

Your husband has unusual powers of resistance, 
really marvelous vitality. And he responds 
splendidly to medical treatment. I've seen 
men in his condition last for years. {Mrs. 
Sedgewick gives another long sigh.) Good- 
24 



SOCIETY NOTES 



night, Mrs. Sedgewick, I hope the evening will 
be everything you can wish for. 
mrs. sedgewick (perfunctory) 
So sorry you're not coming. 

CORRE 

My evenings are very full. However, I ap- 
preciate your kindness. 

mrs. sedgewick (patronizing, as if she were an- 
nouncing something to the old family butler) 
You are so deeply interested in the family that 
I know you will like to hear that we shall have 
a very pleasant announcement to make in the 
course of a few days. My daughter and a man 
in — er — her own circle. You've heard his 
name, no doubt. Mr. Reginald Staunton. 

corre (stung out of his usual indifference) 

Your daughter Mary to that man Staunton? 
Mrs. Sedgewick, surely you can't mean it? 

mrs. sedgewick (mistaking his repugnance for awe) 
Yes, isn't it lovely? Everything a mother could 
wish for her child. And I know she will find 
complete happiness in remaining in the same 
station of life to which she has been accustomed. 

CORRE 

I doubt it. However, I am only your medical 
advisor and I fear I am limited to that. 

(Miss Fountain enters from the sun room and 
Mary from the door, left, at the same time. Miss 
Fountain passes Corre with a chilly little nod, 
which he returns coolly. Mary, radiant in evening 
dress, advances to the center of the room. Corre, 
after one glance at her, turns his back and stands 
25 



SOCIETY NOTES 



looking out of window. Miss Fountain ap- 
praises Mary with gasps of delight.) 

MISS FOUNTAIN 

How chic — how spirituelle — how ravishing — 
really, ravishing is the only word for it, is it 
not, Mrs. Sedgewick? 
mrs. sedgewick {who has regained her complacency 
with the advent of her chief ally) 
It's from Paris. An original Cheruit model. 
Turn around, Mary, so that Miss Fountain 
can get the full details. 

{Mary stands stock-still^) 

MISS FOUNTAIN 

Ravishing! Simply and exquisitely ravishing. 

MRS. SEDGEWICK 

Yes, isn't it? Turn around, Mary. 

mary {does not budge) 

Mother, I am sure Miss Fountain's marvelous 
imagination can fill in the details. That won- 
derful imagination! Where should we be with- 
out it? 

mrs. sedgewick {hurriedly takes Miss Fountain 
by the arm and beats a retreat toward the sun 
room) 

Come, my dear, I want to explain that last 
figure again. 

miss fountain {her voice floating back as they go 
off through the sun room) 

Oh, yes. Where the buds form a circle, and the 
dancing men revolve — 

{Corre still stands looking out of the window. 
Mary crosses to the fireplace, and looks at herself 
26 



SOCIETY NOTES 



rather sadly in the mirror above it. Suddenly 
she speaks in a tone entirely different from that 
she used before, a wistful, girlish, musical voice.) 

MARY 

Don't you wish to see this ravishing sight, 
Dr. Corre? 
corre {turns slowly with his hands shielding his 
eyes as if from the sun) 

I'm not keen about being ravished. It's too 
devastating. 

MARY 

Bear it like a man. Just one look. 

{Corre takes his hands away from his eyes, 
looks at her squarely, and continues to look and 
look until she grows uncomfortable.) 

MARY 

That will do. You've acquitted yourself 
nobly. Did it hurt much? 

CORRE 

A lot. It still does. {He continues to stare.) 
But it's worth it. What shall I do? Now I've 
started looking I can't stop. 

MARY 

Try a cigarette. The blaze of the match may 
distract your attention. {She offers him one 
from a box on the table.) 

CORRE 

Thanks. I prefer my own. {He takes one from 
his case.) Will you light it for me? {She lights 
one for herself and then his, and they sit on the 
sofa before the fireplace.) 
27 



SOCIETY NOTES 



MARY 

Seize the fleeting moment. This is the only 
happy one I expect to enjoy this evening. 

CORRE 

That's rather a queer statement in view of the 
alliance your mother intimated to me a few 
minutes ago. 
mary {looks at him quickly) 

Already? You mean she spoke as if I were 
going to announce my engagement to Mr. 
Staunton? 

CORRE 

You do know of it then? I had almost hoped — 
{Rising.) Well, I think in view of the cir- 
cumstances, you should be able to pass a few 
happy moments with him. 

MARY 

Sit down. {He sits.) He's Mother's choice, 
not mine, and she's a long way from being his 
adoring mother-in-law. 

CORRE 

Lord knows, he has a lot to offer any girl. 

MARY 

Yes, I know that. But aside from his wealth 
and position, they say he is the best student in 
feminine psychology in town. And I couldn't 
expect him to give up his studies after marriage 
and concentrate his energies on one specimen 
of the sex, could I ? 

CORRE 

I'm not pleading any man's cause with you, 
Miss Sedgewick. I do know of one man who 
would like to devote all the lives he could 
collect studying the psychology of one woman. 
28 



SOCIETY NOTES 



MARY 

That would necessitate spending long, quiet 
evenings at home with that one woman, 
wouldn't it? 

CORRE 

It would. Tell me, does the very thought of 
long, quiet evenings at home with just one 
admiring male make you yawn with boredom? 

MARY 

If you only knew. {She reaches back of her and 
brings over the copy of Society Notes, left lying 
on the table.) Here's the sort of thing that is 
killing me by inches. {Reading.) "Mr. and 
Mrs. Sedgewick received their guests in a 
veritable fairyland bower of pink roses. Mr. 
Sedgewick, as always handsome, dignified, 
aristocratic, was his usual charming self, show- 
ing the influence of the society of foreign cap- 
itals grafted on our fine old American stock." 
{She looks at him quizzically.) That enchanting 
description is supposed to be Father — my 
father. 

CORRE 

That's one very good point in his favor, Miss 
Miss Sedgewick, the fact that he is your father. 

MARY 

Yes, he has always considered that the one 
redeeming feature in an otherwise ill-spent life. 
Do you want to hear another gem ? 

CORRE 

I love the sound of your voice. 
mary {hurriedly) 

Here's one sentence, all lies, two hundred words 
without a break. {Reading with affected elo- 
29 



SOCIETY NOTES 



quence.) "The effect of the congenial and beau- 
tiful home life and loving and exquisite care 
which have been the keynote of the debutante's 
rearing, her aunt on her mother's side having 
married the Earl of Conant, it being a matter of 
poignant regret that the Countess cannot be 
here for her niece's debut, affairs of state de- 
manding her presence elsewhere, and many of 
her kinsfolk on her father's side being descended 
from that fine old aristocracy of the southern 
states, masters of lordly plantations, where 
hospitality was a high art; her maternal pro- 
genitors having been captains of finance — 
shone in her beatific young face as she greeted 
her hosts of admiring friends and guests." 
{She tosses the paper back on the table with a 
gesture of despair?) You see, quite apart from 
a lack of syntax in these descriptions, there 
isn't a word of truth in them either. My aunt, 
the countess, is occupied at present getting a 
divorce from a perfect rotter of a husband. 
And the most important of my maternal pro- 
genitors — {she looks at him searchingly, and he 
allows himself a broad grin.) You've heard 
rumors, no doubt? 

CORRE 

I have heard that before he was a captain of 
finance he served a term as a captive of finance. 

MARY 

Can't you see what a laughingstock this makes 
me feel ? When I know that others know and are 
revelling in it, especially those that aren't 
asked here tonight? When I know — Oh, 
Lord! {She quotes despairingly.) "Mr. Sedge- 
30 



SOCIETY NOTES 



wick, his charming self — congenial home life — 
beatific young face — " {She pushes her face in 
front of his, inviting scrutiny.) Look. Can you 
observe a happy shine on this beatific young 
countenance? 

CORRE 

Don't ask me to inspect that countenance 
again tonight. I did it once at my own risk. 
Next time I do it, it will be at yours. 

mary {insistent) 

Look at me, please. {She makes a grimace like 
a child crying.) My beatific young face. 

corre {turns and looks deep into her eyes. Her 
face grows sweet and serious. He lays his hands 
on her shoulders; she does not draw away) 
I don't have to look at your face, Mary Sedge- 
wick. I've had it before me waking and sleep- 
ing for more than a year. I've loved the in- 
nocence of it, the wistfulness of it, and the 
fine sincerity that glows in your dark eyes. 
And Fve damned my helplessness to snatch 
you away from these fool influences that were 
trying to mould you into a chuckle-headed little 
flapper. {He releases her shoulders and catches 
hold of her hands-.) Mary, my dear, my dear, 
chuck these things you hate and come away 
with me. 

MARY 

You mean — 

CORRE 

Marry me now. We'll have our youth together. 

MARY 

Are you acting from a sense of duty, sort of 
rescue work affair — or — 
3i 



SOCIETY NOTES 



CORRE 

Rescue work? Good Lord, when I spend my 
waking hours thinking new ways of telling you 
you're the most wonderful thing on God's green 
earth. You've put my work on the blink, my 
practise on the blink, and me on the blink. 
Now, who needs rescue, I'd like to know? 

MARY 

Both of us, perhaps. We'll draw up a fifty- 
fifty rescue scheme for you and me. 

CORRE 

We needn't draw it up. They'll do it for us at 
the City Hall. They call it a marriage license. 

MARY 

Oh! 

CORRE 

If I go shopping for one tomorrow, will you 
come with me to help me select a nice one? 

MARY 

I'm busy tomorrow. Won't next week do? 

CORRE 

Mary, Mary, don't make it too long, dear. I 
won't be really living until I've got you fast; 
until I see you sitting across my hearth from me. 
mary {dreamily) 

Across your hearth from you. Why, how jolly 
that sounds. 

CORRE 

Doesn't it? And Mary— 

MARY 

Yes? 

CORRE 

I had such a cute, snappy way of proposing to 
you, but you messed it all up. 
32 



SOCIETY NOTES 



MARY 

I did? 

CORRE 

Yes, you excited me so I forgot my lines. Shall 
I tell you the other one now ? 

MARY 

Oh, do. And I can accept the one I like best. 

CORRE 

Here goes. I could die a happy man — if— if 
I could kiss you — once. 

MARY 

I'd hate to see you die — but — 

{She does not lean away from him. He seizes 
her in his arms and kisses her. She releases 
herself.) 

CORRE 

That wasn't a real one. I went slow at first. 

MARY 

It seemed rather rapid to me. Have you— 
have you another variety of those, too? 

CORRE 

Several. Here's another. {He catches her and 
kisses her.) That one was on second speed. 
And here goes one on high. 

{He takes Mary in his arms again, and they are 
interrupted in a very thorough embrace by 
Staunton, who enters from the right, and stands 
looking at them a moment before he speaks^ 

STAUNTON 

I knew I was right. {They spring to their feet. 
Corre glares at Staunton.) You said there was 
no other man. 

33 



SOCIETY NOTES 



MARY 

There wasn't — then. 

corre {coldly emphatic) 

There most decidedly is now. 

STAUNTON 

Didn't take you very long to learn a woman's 
tricks, did it, Miss Sedgewick? Prevaricating 
so prettily about loving an ideal when all the 
time it was this man's arms and his kisses you 
were thinking about. {Roughly.) How long 
has this been going on? 
corre {walks up to Staunton and speaks very 
gently) 
I don't like your tone. Please change it. 

STAUNTON 

You are assuming a good deal of authority in a 
house where you are not even a guest. 

CORRE 

I won't tell you again I don't like your in- 
solence. You say another word I don't like and 
I'll take you out in the rear and spoil your ap- 
pearance as a guest for some time to come. 

staunton {disgustedly) 

Cave-man stuff! {Corre starts towards him. 
He turns nervously to Mary.) Hold your friend 
off; I don't want my hair mussed. By the way, 
I think your mother will have a word or two 
to say in this argument. 

mary {airily) 

Let Mother divorce Father and marry you 
herself. It would give her great pleasure, 
coming and going. 

34 



SOCIETY NOTES 



{A loud tuning of instruments is heard from the 
sun room. Mrs. Sedgewick enters excitedly.) 

MRS. SEDGEWICK 

Mary, Mary, come this instant. The first 
guests are arriving and we must form our re- 
ceiving line. 

MARY 

Don't get excited, Mother. YouVe always 
said the first guests are sure to be poor relations 
and people who don't count, so we'll have 
plenty of time to finish this argument we're 
having. 
staunton {sourly) 

Your daughter has an important announce- 
ment to make to you first, Mrs. Sedgewick. 

MRS. SEDGEWICK(frlissful) 

Oh, Mr. Staunton. 

STAUNTON 

She wants to tell you she's engaged to be mar- 
ried. 
mrs. sedgewick (hurries over to Staunton and 
buries her head on his shoulder) 
What happiness, what joy. You are the only 
man in the world my mother's heart can gladly 
give her to — {At a loss for words.) How ravish- 
ing, how simply and divinely ravishing! Regi- 
inald, my dear, dear son. 

STAUNTON 

I hate to disillusion you, Mrs. Sedgewick, but 
you are embracing the wrong son. {Mrs. 
Sedgewick straightens up, suddenly aware of 
strained relations. She looks from one to the 
35 



SOCIETY NOTES 



other.) I regret to say I am not the ravishing 
one. Dr. Corre is the — er — lucky man. 

MRS. SEDGEWICK 

Dr. Corre, I am amazed at your effrontery. 

mary (in a tone of appeal) 
Mother, please! 

mrs. sedgewick (the old Ben Higgins strain crash- 
ing through the Sedgewick veneer as she yields 
to her rage and disappointment) 
Mary, you ungrateful, impertinent thing, be 
still or leave the room. I know what I am 
doing. After all I have done for you — this! 

MARY 

I believe I'll stay. I'm a bit interested in the 
outcome. 

mrs. sedgewick (the Sedgewick veneer totally 
submerged) 

Then hold your tongue. (She turns to Corre.) 
To sneak into the sanctity of our home and try 
to beguile this child into a marriage which can 
mean nothing but misery and sacrifice; made- 
over clothes, hashed-over food, loss of servants, 
and loss of friends — am I right? 

corre (politely interested) 

I'm sure I don't know. I have never met 
people like that intimately. Very interesting 
though, no doubt. 

MRS. SEDGEWICK 

To take this girl away from a position of 
prominence and luxury to share the life of a 
poor, unknown professional man, to run his 
office, do his work — What have I done to de- 
serve all this? 

36 



SOCIETY NOTES 



CORRE . 

Mrs. Sedgewick, aren't you drawing a good bit 
on your imagination? I'd like to correct some 
of your impressions, if I may. I am not a poor, 
unknown professional man, proof enough that 
I attend your husband. And my people have 
been doctors and men of science as far back as 
we can trace them. And I rather think I am 
going to make a big thing of my career. It 
won't be my fault if I don't. You are mistaken 
if you think I am a poor weakling seeking a leg 
up by marrying into a rich family. {Ruefully.) 
As it is, it will take me years to live this down 
among the doctors. 

MRS. SEDGEWICK 

I have made my plans. I will not have them 
interfered with. Dr. Corre, you had better go 
at once. 

If he goes, I go with him. Now! Tonight! 
Then where are your plans? 
mrs. sedgewick {loses her head) 

You are a thoroughly ungrateful, disobedient, 
insolent girl and not to be trusted for an in- 
stant. I will not have you to dictate to me; 
I will lock you in your room first. 

MARY , 

Quite aside from the foolishness of that threat, 
you would have to make some very curious 
explanations to your guests. Hush, listen. 
{The strumming of instruments and broken 
chords float in with the sound of voices. _ Mary 
is very graved Quick, Mother! What is it to 
37 



SOCIETY NOTES 



be? Am I to live my own life in my own way, 
or shall I refuse to appear tonight? 

mrs. sedge wick (waking up to her powerlessness) 
Mary, Mary, what has gotten into you? 

mary (suddenly begins to dance about the room) 
Oh, I'm happy, I'm happy, happy, happy; 
I'm happy for the first time in my life. I'm so 
happy it hurts. I want to cry and laugh and 
sing and shout. I love everyone. Oh, start the 
music, someone, I have to dance. (Her father 
totters in and she throws her arms about him, 
almost flinging him of his feet.) Oh, Father, 
Father, I'm so happy. I'm engaged to be 
married. 

sedge wick (grouchy) 

The devil you are. To whom ? 

corre (coming forward) 
To me, Mr. Sedgewick. 

sedge wick (grinning broadly, to the surprise of 
all and the consternation of his wife) 
By Jove, that's the best news I've heard in 
years. Fine! Fine! Get some strong, new 
blood in the family. Correct your mother's 
mistake in marrying me, my dear. (He kisses 
her.) 

staunton (goes toward the dooor, right) 

This is the door, I believe? (They all look at 
him questioningly.) Where the butler dispenses 
appetizers for the evening's bliss ? My congrat- 
ulations! You take the bliss, I'll take the 
appetizers. (He goes off, right.) 

mrs. sedgewick (weakly) 
I'm sure I don't see — 

38 



SOCIETY NOTES 



(Miss Fountain's voice is heard of stage. Mrs. 
Sedgewick straightens, and takes command 
again.) 

MRS. SEDGEWICK 

Hush! Not a word! I hear Miss Fountain. 
{She makes a supreme effort and recaptures her 
company manners.) Percival, Mary, we must 
form in line. 

SEDGEWICK 

I say, Corre, you want to stand in well with the 
old man. Let me have one of those appetizers 
to bliss. Not much in 'em, just a bit of 
vermouth and a bit of gin and a bit of old 
bourbon, and a dash of bitters — ah, if you only 
knew how the thought of one affects me. 

CORRE 

Make it a half a one, sir. 

SEDGEWICK 

A parent's blessing on your young head. (He 
goes out, right) 

mrs. sedgewick (crosses quickly to where Mary and 
Corre stand at the door, left) 
I believe you said er — your ancestors — such an 
interesting detail, you know — they have been 
doctors for generations, you said? 

CORRE 

Back to the Revolution, and not a chiropodist 
or a veterinary in the lot. 

MRS. SEDGEWICK 

Dr. Corre — in time — I hope you will forget — 
forgive — I love my daughter — I want her to 
be happy. 

39 



SOCIETY NOTES 



corre {with an ingratiating smile) 

Mrs. Sedgewick, I hope you will forgive — I 
love your daughter — Til make her happy. 

MRS. SEDGEWICK 

My childr— 

{Miss Fountain sails in from the sun room.) 

mary {pulling Corre through the door) 

Oh, glory, here comes Society Notes. Run! 

{Mary and Corre go off, left.) 

{Miss Fountain advances to the center, Mrs. 
Sedgewick has made a quick recovery.) 

MISS FOUNTAIN 

And everything so unbelievably wonderful. 
And dear Mr. Sedgewick — I saw him just now — 
so full of spirits. And Mr. Staunton — so 
stunning, so aristo — 
mrs. sedgewick {interrupts suavely and confi- 
dentially) 

Miss Fountain, it was on that subject I wanted 
a moment's talk with you. You know how it is 
when a girl has so many suitors — we had 
rather thought that Mary and Mr. Staunton — 
but I fear I was a bit premature this evening — 

MISS FOUNTAIN 

I see. Mary wishes to enjoy her girlish freedom 
a bit longer. 

MRS. SEDGEWICK 

Not exactly. Mary has always been so in- 
tellectually, so spiritually inclined, that she 
has placed her affections where she can develop 
the higher side of her nature. In the meantime 
I can tell you that Dr. Corre — 
40 



SOCIETY NOTES 



miss fountain (overcome to the point of indis- 
cretion for the only time in her life) 
Dr. Corre? 

mrs. sedgewick (blandly and imperturbably) 
That Dr. Corre is a leader in the medical 
profession, his ancestors having been dis- 
tinguished doctors as far back as the May- 
flower. We are very well pleased. I shall be 
able to give you information for a full column 
for next Sunday's Society Notes. 

miss fountain {who has been swallowing her sur- 
prise during Mrs. Sedgewick' s speech, and who 
has now recovered her usual poise) 
Splendid, glorious, ravishing, simply ravishing! 

{Full and loud the dance music is heard through 
the sun room. They rise. Miss Fountain 
stands, her right arm flung aloft, her face and 
pose alight with the fervor and glorious ex- 
pectancy of the Angel in the Annunciation}) 

miss fountain 

Hush! THE BALL of the season is beginning. 



CURTAIN 



4i 



Stewart Kidd Modern Plays 
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To meet the immensely increased demands of the play-reading public 
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HEARTS TO MEND, a Fantasy in One Act. 

By H. A. Over street. 
Originally produced by the Fireside Players, White Plains, N. Y. 
St. Louis Star : "It is a light whimsy and well carried out." 
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SIX WHO PASS WHILE THE LENTILS BOIL. 

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Susan Glaspell's Suppressed Desires 

Eugene O'Neill's play Bound East for Cardiff 

Edna St. Vincent Millay's Aria de Capo 

Rita Wellman's String of the Samisen 

Wilbur D. Steele's satire Not Smart 

Floyd Dell's comedy The Angel Intrudes 

Hutchin Hapgood's and 

Neith Boyce's play Enemies 

Pendleton King's Cocaine 

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SHORT PLAYS 

By MARY MacMILLAN 



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MORE SHORT PLAYS 

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the Denver Little Art Theatre, at Carmel-by-the-Sea in 
California, etc. 

Handsomely bound and uniform with S. &f K. Dramatic Series. 
i2mo. Cloth. Net, $2.50; ^ Turkey Morocco, Net, $8.50. 

STEWART & KIDD COMPANY 

Publishers Cincinnati, U. S. A. 



Stewart Kidd Plays 

MASTERPIECES 

OF MODERN SPANISH 

DRAMA 

EDITED, WITH A PREFACE, BY 

BARRETT H. CLARK 



"A volume that will prove of unusual interest to lovers of the 
theatre. ' "—Brooklyn Daily Eagle. 

The collection of plays in this volume has a distinct value, 
representing, as it does, three varied aspects of the dramatic 
genius of Spain — Echegaray, Galdos and Guimera, the Catalon- 
ian Nationalist. 

Two of the plays, the "Duchess of San Quentin'and ' ' Daniela , ' ' 
have never before been translated. 

Mr. Clark, the editor, who is well-known to all lovers and 
students of the drama, gives, in his prefaces, a concise and illumi- 
nating survey of the drama in Spain, both old and new. 

Each play is preceded by a biographical sketch and a complete 
chronological list of the dramatist's works. 

THE GREAT GALEOTO, a tragedy, by Jose Echegaray, 
translated by Eleanor Bontecou (presented to the American public 
by Wm. Faversham, under the title "The World and his Wife") 

"an instance of Echegaray 's melodramatic and essentially 

Spanish genius." 

DANIELA, a tragic drama, by Angel Guimera, translated by 
John Garrett Underhill. "Daniela comes to us with all the force 
of a new sensation, ... .by virtue of the profound and tragic 
poetry of its theme. (It) is of the great order." — The Dial. 

THE DUCHESS OF SAN QUENTIN, a comedy, by 
Benito Perez-Galdos, translated by Philip M. Hayden. "Galdos 
has done a rare bit of character portrayal."— Cleveland Plain 
Dealer. 

"All the plays are essentially racial and as such will deeply 
interest the student of European Drama." — Argonaut. 

12MO, Silk Cloth, Net $2.50 



Send for Complete Dramatic Catalogue 

STEWART KIDD COMPANY 

PUBLISHERS CINCINNATI, U. S. A. 



Stewart Kidd Dramatic Publications 



The Truth About the Theater Anonymous $1.25 

British and American Drama of Today 

Barrett H.Clark 2.50 

European Theories of the Drama Barrett H. Clark 5.00 

ContemporaryFrenchDramatists Barrett H. Clark 2.50 

Four Plays of the Free Theater . . Barrett H. Clark 2.50 
The Provincetown Plays 

Geo. Cram Cook & Frank Shay, Editors 2.50 

The Two Cromwells Liddell DeLesseline 1.50 

Plays and Players Walter Prichard Eaton 3.00 

The Antigone of Sophocles 

Prof. Jos. Edward Harry 1.25 

The Changing Drama Archibald Henderson 2.50 

European Dramatists Archibald Henderson 3.00 

George Bernard Shaw: His Life and Works 

Archibald Henderson 7.50 

Short Plays Mary MacMillan 2.50 

More Short Plays Mary MacMillan 2.50 

The Gift Margaret Douglas Rogers 1.00 

Comedies of Words and Other Plays 

Arthur Schnitzler, Translated by Pierre Loving 2.50 
Fifty Contemporary One- Act Plays 

Compiled by Frank Shay & Pierre Loving 5.00 
The Best Short Plays, 1920-1921 

Edited by Frank Shay 2.50 

Ten One- Act Comedies Edited by Frank Shay 2.50 

Lucky Pehr August Strindberg 2.50 

Translated by Veltna Swansion Howard 

Easter August Strindberg 2.50 

Translated by Velma Swanston Howard 

The Hamlet Problem and its Solution 

EmersonV "enable 1.50 

Portmanteau Plays Stuart Walker, net 2.50 

More Portmanteau Plays Stuart Walker, net 2.50 

Portmanteau Adaptations Stuart Walker, net 2.50 

Three Plays Stark Young 1.35 

"Madretta", "At the Shrine", "Addio". 

Stewart Kidd Modern Plays 
Edited by Frank Shay 

Mansions Hildegarde Flanner .50 

The Shepherd in the Distance. .Holland Hudson .50 

Hearts to Mend H. A. Overstreet .50 

Sham Frank G. Tompkins .50 

Six Who Pass While the Lentils Boil 

_ Stuart Walker .50 

The Emperor Jones Eugene O'Neill .50 

Sweet and Twenty Floyd Dell .50 

Two Slatterns and a King 

More to follow Edna St. Vincent Millay .50 



fiiiilliii 

1 018 -478 360 5 



Stewart Kidd Little Theatre Plays 

Edited by Grace Adams 

The Stewart Kidd Little Theatre Plays are 
designed to meet two definite demands. The first 
is that of the many Little Theatres for plays of 
actual dramatic distinction and of artistic impor- 
tance. The second is that of the general public 
for plays of true literary value. 

The Series is under the direct supervision of 
Miss Adams, who has selected and edited the 
plays to meet the particular requirements here 
instanced. The price of the plays has been made 
unusually low in the effort to bring them within 
the reach of everyone. Each play is issued in a 
form that is entirely practical for purposes of pro- 
duction. At the same time the books are artistic 
and attractive in appearance. They are by no 
means merely acting versions. 

Bound in art paper, each $oc. 

TITLES 

No. i. THE GHOST STORY 
by Booth Tarkington 

No. 2. SOUNDING BRASS 

by Edward Hale Bierstadt 

No. 3. A FAN AND TWO CANDLESTICKS 
by Mary MacMillan 

Others in preparation 



